15 July 1916

The first Boeing Model 1, the very first Boeing airplane, at Duwamish River site, near Seattle, Washington, 1916. (Boeing)
The first Boeing Model 1, the very first Boeing airplane, at Duwamish River site, near Seattle, Washington, 1916. (Boeing)

15 July 1916: Timber merchant William Edward Boeing (1881–1956) incorporated the Pacific Aero Products Company, to manufacture airplanes. The factory was a former boat house on the Duwamish River near Seattle Washington. The first aircraft produced was the Boeing Model 1, a single-engine, float-equipped biplane. Less than a year later, the company name was changed to Boeing Airplane Company.

The original Boeing factory has been relocated to the Museum of Flight. (Boeing)
The original Boeing factory has been relocated to the Museum of Flight. (Boeing)

For over 100 years, Boeing has produced commercial and military aircraft. Today, The Boeing Company is the world’s leading aerospace corporation. It employs 159,469 people. Its 2017 revenues were $93,390,000,000. Boeing received orders  for 912 commercial aircraft in 2017, valued at $134,800,000,000. The company’s backlog for commercial airplanes is 5,864. On the military side, the U.S. Army has ordered 268 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. The company has contracts for 17 P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, and is expected to deliver 18 KC-46 tankers in 2018. It has foreign contracts for 36 F-15 Eagles and 28 F-18 Super Hornets.

William Edward Boeing (1881–1956)

Boeing recently unveiled its new 787–10 Dreamliner:

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

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7 thoughts on “15 July 1916

  1. Got my first Boeing flight on a 707 in 1959, and 2 years later on a KC-135 in the AF.

  2. What an uplifting and Beautiful video of what a great company has created and as we see the future of a Dreamliner.

  3. The caption on the photo above is incorrect. The model 1 in the photo was on Lake Union, not the Duwamish.
    “The first Boeing Model 1, the very first Boeing airplane, at Duwamish River site, near Seattle, Washington, 1916. (Boeing)”

  4. the captation under William Boeing picture contain a typo. The date should be 1881 and not 1981

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